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Anyway, here's Chapter 10, I hope you like it!

Fred watched as Hazel tore down the stairs and started ripping apart the common room. He could see the panic in her eyes and the jerkiness of her movements that indicated terror. He wanted to get up and help her, but his ass was rooted to his chair. She didn't want him. Not until after O.W.L.s, and even then there was no guarantee. So he sat and watched as Oliver stood and went to help her.

"Fred, mate, you still with me?" Lee asked, waving his Exploding Snap cards in front of Fred's dazed face.

"Yeah, sorry." He said, keeping an eye on Hazel and Oliver out of the corner of his eye. He watched that git Oliver console her and lead her over to the dormitory stairs and watch her go up. It took all of Fred's willpower not to go shake him until his Quidditch-obsessed head fell right off his big thick neck.

"Your turn Fred." George nudged his twin with his elbow.

"I'm going to bed. Long day." He said, throwing down his cards. One of them exploded and sent the small pile of knuts and sickles flying.

"C'mon, man, one more hand!" Lee begged.

"I was losing anyway. See you tomorrow." He explained flippantly. He climbed the stairs and entered the dorm he shared with four other boys, flopped down on his bed, and pulled The Princess Bride out from under his pillow and picked up where he had left off before break.

"Aah, Cliffs of Insanity, my kind of place. Wonder if I can buy property there…build a summer home." He muttered to himself as Fezzik, encumbered by Inigo, Vizzini, and Buttercup, began to climb the cliffs.

That Sunday, Hazel bundled up as best she could and set out to find Snuffles. The lake was beginning to freeze over and the snow was about six inches deep, so her travels took her a bit longer than usual. Her first stop was Hagrid's hut, where the gentle giant informed her that he hadn't seen the scruffy black dog, but he had been putting food into the tree and every time he did he found it empty.

"So 'e's eatin'. Or the food's bein' stolen by other animals…but I don' think tha's wha's happenin'." He explained, his face going from bright to dour and back to bright within seconds.

"Well, thanks for keeping an eye out. I got you something just as a little thank-you." She said, digging in her bag and retrieving a medium-sized box wrapped in colorful paper. His face lit up as he tore into the paper and opened the box.

"Aw, 'azel, you didn't 'ave to!" he said, extracting the eighteen-year-old bottle of Nithercott's.

"Yes I did. I explained it to my granddad, and he understood. Don't go telling Professor Dumbledore where you got it, mind. I'd be expelled."

"Oh, I won't. Thank you, really. Real nice of yeh to think of me. You should go, looks like it's about to snow. I will keep looking for that pup." He said, ushering her out the door.

Hazel stepped out of the warm hut and looked at the gray sky. She knew Hagrid was right, but headed to the beech tree anyway, hoping to find Snuffles. As she approached the tree, her hope fell as dramatically as the wind started whipping across the lake, blowing feather-light snow in all directions.

She stood at the tree for few minutes or so, one hand on the trunk as she looked over the lake and watched the snow dance across its partially-frozen surface. She silently wished she had brought her ice skates from home as her feet started to freeze. She turned back to the path and promised herself that she would come back the next day and look for Snuffles.

Just as she started up the path, she saw the shaggy dog bounding through the snow at her. She opened up her arms and bent over, crashing into the dog as relief flooded her system. She hugged him tight around the neck as he licked her face.

"You're okay! You're okay! I'm so glad you're okay!" she exclaimed as he tackled her to the ground and continued kissing her. She shivered as the snow melted into her jeans and the water trickled down to her boots. The dog grabbed the sleeve of her coat in his teeth and pulled her in the direction from which he came. She followed, unsure of where she was going until they emerged in front of a large, moving willow tree.

Hazel recognized it immediately as the Whomping Willow and froze in her tracks, trying to stop the dog from moving closer. He barked at her and slipped out of her grasp, deftly avoiding the dangerously swinging branches until he got all the way to the trunk of the tree. He touched it with his nose and the tree stopped moving, its branches suspended in midair. Snuffles barked at her again before disappearing into a hole in the ground next to the base of the tree that she had somehow never noticed before.

He wanted her to follow him into a dark tunnel next to the Whomping Willow. A red flag rose in Hazel's mind, but she pushed it away and ran after the dog, driven mostly by curiosity and the need to know if he was staying in a suitable place. If not, she would sneak him into the castle that night.

The tunnel, surprisingly enough, was rather warm so Hazel took off her scarf and gloves and shoved them in her bag. She retrieved her wand and muttered "Lumos," to light the darkness in front of her. The dirt walls had the roots of the tree above them sticking out all over the place, but they didn't seem to move so Hazel followed the sound of Snuffles' urgent echoing barks. Was this where he was staying? Deep in the tunnels beneath Hogwarts? Or was there someplace at the end of the tunnel?

After walking what had felt like forever, with Snuffles at least twenty paces ahead of her the entire time, they arrived at a rickety wooden door risen about two feet above the tunnel floor. Snuffles stopped and waited for her to catch up, wagging his tail as she approached. He looked up at her with his big puppy dog eyes and tilted his head toward the door, as if urging her to open it. She slowly reached for the handle while watching him as if to gauge his reaction. He moved his head as if to nod, and Hazel pushed the door open.

On the other side of the door was the interior of a little house with boarded up windows and a thick layer of dust covering damn near everything. On her left was the front door (boarded up) and on her right a buckled, crooked staircase that she wouldn't trust with her life. Directly ahead of her was a small sitting room with a squashy-looking sofa and decrepit fireplace, in which some embers were still burning. On the floor there were paw prints leading mostly everywhere, but Hazel saw a pair of human prints as well.

"So this is where you bring all of your caretakers?" she joked to the dog, ruffling his ears as she pulled herself up into the house. Snuffles jumped up after and chuffed happily, prancing around the foyer, leaving more paw prints. This made a lot of the settled dust take to the air, and Hazel began sneezing rapidly. She doused her wand and gestured around the room, "Scourgify!" she managed between sneezes. Instantaneously, the floor in front of her was clean.

"There, that's better," she said, tucking her wand away. "So this is where you've been staying, eh?"

She moved into the sitting room and cleaned it as well, again seeing the human shoe prints in the dust. Shivering slightly, she added two more logs to the fireplace and stoked it. Someone else must be helping Snuffles, she reasoned, and felt a sense of relief. After a moment, curiosity got the better of her and she peeked out of one of the boarded up windows to try and see where they were. She saw a decrepit barbed wire fence about fifty yards away, and in the distance the small village of Hogsmeade.

"The Shrieking Shack!" she exclaimed, suddenly remembering the tales students told about the place in which she stood and becoming paranoid. She retrieved her wand and gripped it tightly, looking about for any sign of ghosts or ghouls or anything that may want to murder her in cold blood.

Snuffles returned from the kitchen and looked at her confusedly, tilting his head from side to side. The sight of the dog helped Hazel relax a bit and she crossed to the sofa, Snuffles joining her. At a loss for anything else to do, she pulled out her Transfiguration notes and started studying.

The house was oddly peaceful save for the occasional groan, as if the house was protesting having to stand. The fire crackled, but unlike in the common room she didn't have the distraction of all the other Gryffindors. In fact, hours of studying passed uninterrupted before Hazel checked her watch and cursed. It was nearly dinnertime, but even if she ran through the passage she would still miss it. Having skipped lunch, her stomach grumbled unhappily so she decided to make a run for it. She gave Snuffles a quick pat on the head and dashed through the wooden door, making sure to close it.

She arrived in the Entrance Hall quite out of breath just as the Great Hall doors were closing, telling students that dinner was over. Her breath was coming in short, fast gasps as the large wooded doors slammed shut. Hazel hung her head in dismay, and let a growl escape her throat.

"Why so glum?" a familiar voice asked. She lifted her head and saw the twins striding toward her.

"I missed dinner." She explained, gesturing toward the Great Hall.

"You know where the kitchens are, correct?" Hazel nodded in a 'duh' sort of manner. Being friends with the twins almost guaranteed that fact.

"We were just on our way down there for a midnight snack." Fred said, stroking his taut stomach.

"It's seven-thirty. And dinner just ended." Hazel pointed out. The twins' eating habits were subject of much confusion within their circle of friends.

"Okay, a pre-midnight, post-dinner snack." George said, "Whatever you want to call it, you want to come with us?"

"Well, since it's my only chance of eating before tomorrow, yes." She said, falling into step with them as they descended the stairs to the left of the Great Hall.

"So why did our young charms mistress miss dinner?" Fred queried casually, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"I was…preoccupied." She said unconvincingly, watching the floor pass under her feet rather than look at either of them.

"Well if she's not going to tell us, then we'll just have to guess, Forge."

"Fire at will, Gred." George said, a sly smile breaking on his face.

"Were you in the library?" Fred asked.

"Nope."

"Were you perchance out of bounds?" Fred guessed again.

"No."

"Were you with someone handsome and Quidditch-obsessed?" George ventured luridly.

"No!"

"Ah, methinks the lady doth protest too loudly."

"I think we've got ourselves an answer."

"You are no where even remotely close to the answer!" she practically yelped. After what had happened in the common room before break, how could they possibly think she'd get within fifty feet of Wood, much less be tooling around the corridors with him?

"Then where were you?" they asked together.

"I don't have to tell you anything."

"Why so defensive?"

"We're just curious."

"You can tell us anything."

"We are very trustworthy."

"Just look at our angelic faces!" the twins volleyed. Hazel, heavily annoyed and absolutely famished, finally gave in.

"Fine! But you two have to swear not to tell anyone under pain of death!" she rounded on them as they approached the portrait of the bowl of fruit.

"We swear!" they said together as Fred tickled the pear and the knob appeared. Once the door opened they were set upon by a swarm of house-elves.

"Missers Weasley and Missy Hazel! To what does Trixy owe the pleasure?" asked a female house-elf who looked as though she was in charge.

"We are a mite peckish, and Missy Hazel here missed dinner." George said, clapping Hazel on the back. She had a sinking feeling that this wouldn't be the last she heard of that nickname.

"Go sits by the fire and Trixy will fix you something then!" she turned to her fellow elves and shooed them away to work while one of them grabbed each of the twins' hands, forcing them to bend at an awkward angle and shuffle comically after him. He led them over to the large, roaring fireplace and stuffed them into large, overstuffed chairs. Hazel followed, stifling laughs as she sat next to George.

"Oh, sod off Missy Hazel." Fred said, slumping in his chair.

"Tea? Biscuits?" a smaller elf asked, holding up a large tray that probably weighed more than he did up to them, stacked with cups, biscuits and a pot of tea. Hazel took some to be polite but held them in her lap.

"So you still haven't told us where you were." George pressed.

"Oh yeah! Spill it, Missy."

"Okay," she said, repositioning herself to face them. "I've been feeding this stray dog since October, and today I went to see where he was staying."

"A stray dog?"

"That's the best you can do?" Fred said unbelievingly.

"He's staying in the Shrieking Shack! I will take you both there now if you don't believe me!" she said, getting agitated. It had been a long day, and the lack of food in her system was only adding to her agitation.

"How did you get there? Someone would've seen you on the path to Hogsmeade." George pointed out.

"There's a tunnel underneath the Whomping Willow. Goes right into the Shack." She explained.

"No there isn't, it's caved in!"

She had already opened her mouth to respond, but stopped, "H-how would you know about that?"

"We know all the secret passageways and shortcuts round here." Fred defended as the house elf that had offered them tea and biscuits ushered them over to one of the four long tables that mirrored the ones above in the Great Hall. They had set one corner of the table that would be Gryffindor with all sorts of delicious-looking food. Pasties, pies, steaks, sausages, mashed potatoes, veggies, the whole nine yards.

"Well, I'm telling you it's clear. And there's a dog living in the Shrieking Shack." Hazel said with a sense of finality.

"Why is that not the strangest thing I've heard today?" George said as they all tucked in.

"So where are you getting this food to give to this dog that lives in the Shrieking Shack?" Fred asked musically, sitting next to Hazel rather than his brother.

"I've been getting it from the house-elves." She confessed, nibbling on a green bean.

"So you've been stealing from Hogwarts to feed a stray dog?" George shot a look at his brother and they came to a near-instantaneous understanding of how to corner Hazel.

"I have not! The elves are more than happy to help! And besides, you've been coming down here much longer than I have!"

"Yes, but we feed students, not strays." George rationalized, pointing at her with his fork.

"I don't think McGonagall would like that you've been feeding a rabid dog." Fred looked at her out of the corner of his eye slyly.

"Which keeps him around campus."

"Which endangers your fellow students."

"And yourself."

"And now you're telling us you snuck way out-of-bounds to feed this stray dog the stolen food?"

"As if you lot never snuck out of bounds before!" she scoffed, scooping up some mashed potatoes.

"Yes, but we don't feed stray dogs."

"Okay, fine! What do you want?" she asked exasperatedly.

"We request your presence at the Ravenclaw Gryffindor game next Saturday."

"No." she said flatly.

"Wonder how late McGonagall stays up?" Gorge wondered.

"Why do you want me there? You won't even be able to see me!"

"Moral support." George offered.

"And maybe it'll help you get over this whole Wood thing." Fred said.

"I am over it!" she insisted.

"Then prove it!"

"Come to the game!"

Hazel fell silent and for a few minutes the only sounds were the clinking of silverware and the chatter of the house-elves. Fred and George had one of their telepathic conversations to help drown out the silence.

You had to bring up Wood…

Well, it's the truth! Maybe then she'll get back to herself.

Why do you care so much, mate? You've been rescuing her since the beginning of the year.

She's our friend!

Friend or friendly friend? George raised an eyebrow at his brother suggestively.

Sod off...

"Alright, fine. I'll go." Hazel said abruptly. "But I won't enjoy it."

"Oh, I think you will." Fred said knowingly, smiling at her in his devious way. She rolled her eyes and flung some mashed potatoes at him. They landed with a 'splat' on his cheek.

"You're dead, Missy." He said dangerously, grabbing a handful of peas. Hazel screamed and Fred advanced.

Thus began the biggest food fight Hazel had ever seen. It was a full-on war that ended with the three of them getting kicked out of the kitchens by irate house elves and Hazel having to spend an hour washing mashed potatoes out of her hair.

The Ravenclaw/Gryffindor game was, to Hazel, uneventful. Gryffindor won, of course, and Hazel had some fun chanting with her fellow students and watching Fred and George tease the Ravenclaw beaters.

After the game, Hazel used the crowd to disappear into the tunnel by the Whomping Willow and made the long walk to the Shrieking Shack. She knocked on the wooden door and entered.

"Snuffles, hello?" she said in a singsong voice, pulling herself up into the groaning house. The dog bounded down the sighing stairs and nearly tackled her to the ground, raising his paws at her in greeting. They went into the sitting room and wrestled on the sofa for a minute before Hazel noticed that the fire was out and the house was cold. Wind shook the boards on the windows and Hazel shivered.

She didn't have her wand and, since she despised camping with every fiber of her being, didn't know how to build a fire from scratch. The sun was low in the sky, so she made a snap decision.

"How'd you like to sleep with me in the castle tonight? Just to keep warm." She bent over and ruffled the dog's fur as he barked happily and licked her face.

"Okay then. We'll have to be sneaky." She said as if talking to a two-year-old. The dog bounded happily into the tunnel and Hazel followed. As they approached the castle, Hazel became anxious. What if she was caught? How would she explain having a dog with her? The Weasley twins would've come in very handy at that moment.

The entire trip up to Gryffindor tower, Hazel was wracked with nerves. She checked around every corner, every column, every suit of armor for any sign of life. They had to go the long way to avoid Filch and the Dueling club as their meeting ended. She told the annoying Sir Cadogan the password and crept ahead of the dog to make sure the common room was empty. Surprisingly, it was. She figured they had moved the party to the Astronomy tower and was grateful they had as she and Snuffles ran up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.

Heart racing, she made sure the dorm was empty and let him in. He hopped up onto her bed, wagging his tail as Leia approached him. The brown tabby cat hopped onto the bed next to the dog and, after sniffing him a bit, rubbed against his leg signaling her approval. Leia curled up next to him and started purring loudly, heartily approving of having another furry animal around.

Hazel's heart warmed at the sight of them. They were so cute together as they cuddled on her bed. Hazel had a fleeting thought that she should try and take him home for the summer. She'd always wanted a dog, but by the time her dad had become amenable to the idea, she had gotten her Hogwarts letter and he had gotten her a kitten instead.

The logistics of the idea quickly quashed her hope. Getting him into the castle had been difficult enough, getting him home would be even more so. She sat on the bed with the animals and petted each of them in turn. Snuffles lay down at the foot of her bed as she changed into pajamas and crawled beneath the covers. She cracked open A Tale of Two Cities and began to read as Leia settled on her stomach.

The cat purred loudly, the dog snored, and Hazel felt completely at peace for the first time in her entire fifth year at Hogwarts.

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